Lovely Beast
by Dr. Sandwich
Summary: (Sort of a prequal to my story Beastly love.) What if this disney classic had a dark side to its story, a deeper reason why Beast had wanted Bell to stay. (sorry for the weak summary)
1. Chapter I

"Bell"

"Father get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving you behind!"

"You must, for your sake!"

"Bell please…"

The two had finally made it to the large steel doors of the castles bridge after weeks of being lost and forgotten by the outside world. You could say they were kidnapped, stolen even. Although it was different because Bell only had her father, and her father, her poor father only had Bell, his daughter. They lived in a small house on the outskirts of town and weren't exactly the most popular of people around town. Most people claimed Bell was a bookworm and her father a good for nothing lunatic so for the most part people of the town they lived near stayed away from them.

It was until one fateful day Bells father had gotten lost in the woods and ended up in this terrible eerie castle that sat in the middle of it. The only thing she wasn't expecting to find out was the secret behind the castles owner. That same owner had held them captive against their will for three months was told to be a beast, a truly menacing man with no regard to morals or the wellbeing of others. He was tall, dark, and no matter what anyone would say or try to deny about it, he was literally a beast; Bell found that out the hard way.

Things had began to look up once Bell and her father found the residents of the lonely castle looming around in their cursed bodies. If fact, if it wasn't for them, Bell and her father might have ended up dead. I guess its how we survived this entire time, living underneath the beasts nose until he finally sniffed us out, leading up to out great escape that was coming to an end until…

"Father listen, you have to escape!"

Bells father was already more than half way up the gate by the time the Beasts booming howling shook the ground like thunder. It was now or never and by this time Bell -who was still on the ground- could feel the heartbeat of the beasts paws clawing at the ground as he made his way closer to them. Bells heart raced but just a moment later, Bells father was safely on the other side of the gate.

"Bell!"

Her fathers small hands gripped onto the cold metal gates, staring at his daughter with tear filled eyes.

"Please, i can still get you through. I'll help you cli-"

A large dark shadow blanketed Bells small body as her father watched the dark figure appear from nowhere. it rose from the ground like something you'd see in a horror movie. The figure was tall, much taller than his daughter who stood defenseless in front of it. Bell turned around slowly, her eyes widening as she too noticed warmth of the large figure that stood behind her. It stood close, its hot breath breathing down her neck, sending chills down her spine. The beast had appeared, its lightning bright blue eyes stared down at the girl, paralyzing her where she stood, staring directly at the beast in return. Her father however, ran for his life, leaving bell behind with this monster.

**IIIII**

**short chapter.**

**(i hadn't really thought ahead too far so…i'll write more later when somethin' comes to me.**


	2. Chapter II

**So apparently…Belle, isn't spelled Bell, its spelled Belle.**

…

**god thats confusing…maybe its just me. i'll fix it after this chapter since i'm already half way through and its still spelled Bell.**

**IIIII**

He sunk his claws into her skin, drawing blood as black as the castle under the moon light, trailing all the way from the gates to the front door. Ignoring her screams, he did not stop until both of them were locked inside. The beast pinned Bell to the wall by her waist with one large land, leaning up close against her, staring her dead in the eyes. Bell trembled, so frightened that she didn't fight but instead stood there and allowed for the beast to drag her to the prison block in the castles basement. Neither of them said a word to one another. No matter how hard she wanted to try, Bells heart was throbbing in her throat, choking every word she wanted to say.

The rusted barred door squeaked as the Beast pulled it open and tilted his head, motioning for Bell to enter the room. She stepped in gingerly, knowing better than to anger the beast and stood in the middle of the room, hearing the door close behind her with a loud click. The beast left moments later, his claws scraping the ground, his hunched over silhouette was the last thing Bell saw before he turned the corner and he was gone.

**IIII**

"Help! please somebody, help!"

Bells father ran through the streets, knocking on every door, every window, begging for someone to listen to him. citizens of the small town began to rouse from their homes and shops, staring at the stout man who was currently running around practically in circles.

"Please help! my daughter, Bell, she's been taken!" The man repeated, desperation painted all over his face.

Murmurs and whispers traveled the crowd,

**"Isn't that the man that when missing?"**

**"He's been gone for over a month, where do you think he went?"**

**"You think he's telling the truth?"**

"Please, help me!"

"Maurice…" The bartender called out to the man in panic, firmly gripping his shoulder. "Where have you been all this time?"

Maurice turned to face the man with a pained look in his eyes, and continued pleading for help to save his daughter.

"She's going to be killed by the Beast!"

The crowds mood shifted from concern to more humor after hearing about this so called 'beast' of legend they were convinced wasn't real. soon, chuckled and giggles replaced the gasps and questions. People began to trickle away from the crowd, resuming whatever it was they were doing before.

**"The beast isn't real old man!"**

**"Go home Maurice, you're drunk!"**

**"Poor guy. he's delusional."**

"I would not lie about such a thing! you believe me, right?"

Maurice turned to the bartender, who slowly shook his head and walked away with the rest of the crowd, leaving Maurice in the middle of town, hopeless and alone, fearful of his daughter in whom he had just lost.

**IIII**

She'd lost track of time of how long she's been in this cell. Had it been a day yet, had it been many days and she not know it? All she knew was that it was cold and damp in this place, her personal hell. She clung onto the rusted bars of the jail cell, rubbing her thumb against its cold metal.

"Mademoiselle?"

Bell acknowledged the tiny voice she heard with a jump and a quick gasp of surprise only to see that Lumiere had been standing there, his head burning bright in the dark.

"Lumiere, oh, i'm so happy to see you."

"sacrebleu, how did zis happen? I thought you and your father escaped."

Lumiere slipped through the bars and looked up at the tattered and warn condition bell was in. from the looks of it, she hasn't eaten in days. her once rosy cheeks were pale, along with her lips and her eyes. Her dress was covered in dust and dirt and was ripped around the bottom. Bell held herself up against the wall, looking down at the candle as he looked up at her, a bitter frown adorning his wax face.

"My father escaped." Bells voice was weak and fading fast for the visible signs of fatigue was all Lumiere could see in her heartbroken tone.

"I'm sorry i could not get here sooner. I overheard the master grumbling to himself about, 'never letting her go' and i was afraid i'd find you down here…which i did."

"Its alright Lumiere…As long as my father is safe…maybe he'll bring help."

They sat in silence for a long time until Bell and Lumiere had heard another sound coming from around the corner, like wood hitting against stone.

"Lumiere!?"

"Cogsworth, come over here!"

"Lumiere, i told you before," Cogsworth hopped angrily over to Lumiere, slipping through the bars of the jail cell to meet up with him, "No exploring the dungeon, its dange-"

Cogsworth turned to see Bell sitting there who in return looked down at the two.

"B-B-B-Bell?!" Cogsworth fell back in surprise, his eyes wide open and his mouth agape. "I thought you had escaped!"

Bell shook her head.

"You look terrible, how long have you been down here?"

"I don't know."

"You don't sound good either. Lumiere, we have to get her out of here."

"I was thinking the same thing."

"Can you stand Bell?"

Bell pressed the palms of her hands to the cold wet floor as she shifted her weight downward to push herself up. She wobbled a bit, nearly fell over twice then found balance as she used the wall to help her stay up on her feet. She nodded her head and waited as Lumiere and Cogsworth worked to get the gate keys.

**IIII**

Cogsworth peered around the corner and motioned for Bell and Lumiere to follow him. Quickly, the trio hurried to the kitchen to find a few of the other castle dwellers grouped around the counter, including .

She turned to face the girl and gasped as she noticed how thin and pale she had gotten.

"Bell!" met her at the side of the counter. "What happened my dear, i thought you left?"

Bell shook her head and dragged herself to the dining room table and took a seat. "Girls," cried out to the many cups and plates that adorned the kitchen walls and cabinets. "Get Bell something to eat, quickly."

directed her attention back to Bell who had dark circles around her eyes and chapped lips.

"Bell,oh, i wish we had found you sooner." said sorrowfully. "We will fix you up in no time."

"Thank you." Bell nearly whispered. Soon after a plate of food had been sat down in front of Bell. It was the usual thing she had asked for back when her and her father were held captive in the castle and they had to ration the food since Beast would have found out about them stealing food from them.

Although decorated nicely, there was only a chicken breast, roasted to a golden brown, half a loaf of toasted bread with a lump of cheese o the side and a few pieces of broccoli. Bell dived into the food, not noticing how hungry she actually was until the inviting feeling of actual food going down her throat gave her back her sense of taste.

For however long she stayed in the dungeon she felt as if every time she swallowed, she was swallowing saw dust and the breath she exhaled was even drier than that. a few moments later, Chip hopped long and took his place next to the plate, his cup shaped body filled with water.

As bell finished, she swallowed the water from chip in one gulp (since chip wasn't too big) and sat him down gently onto the table.

"Thank you so much."

Already her voice had begun to come back and warmth let her cheeks glow again minus her now gaunt appearance. That precious glow in her face, to see her smile again lit up the entire room and gave everyone that warm and fuzzy feeling inside. At that very instant, that warm feeling of hope and happiness had died away like a suffocating fire, only leaving behind fear in its dying smoke and a nasty residue where it had once lived after a small tea cup, even smaller than chip came through the door and screamed with all her might,

**"The Beast is coming!"**


End file.
